Emile Seurat, Paris (the artist's brother)
Felix Fénéon, Paris
Alfred Vallotton, Paris
Léon Marseille, Paris
Georges Lévy, Paris
Antoine Salomon, Paris
Acquired from the above in the 1960s 

Paris, La Revue Blanche, 1900, not illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Société des artistes indépendants, Exposition rétrospective Seurat, 1905, no. 15
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exposition Georges Seurat, 1908-09, no. 52
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Georges Seurat, Paris, 1920, no. 17
Paris, Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Seurat, 1936, no. 43
Paris, Galerie Bolette Natanson, Les Peintres de la Revue Blanche, no. 43
Paris, Galerie Nationales du Grand Palais, Seurat, 1991, no. 158

C. M. de Hauke, Seurat et son oeuvre, Paris, 1961, vol I, no. 146, illustrated p. 99
Fiorella Minervino, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Seurat, Paris, 1973, no. 146, illustrated p. 102

Very Good Condition. Stable panel which may be bowed very slightly along upper edge. Under UV light, there are 3-5 pinhead size dots of inpainting in sky, otherwise fine.
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Seurat travelled to the Normandy coast during the summer of 1885, discovering there the unique light of the region. He stayed near Grandcamp, completing a series of twelve landscape studies. Lively and brisk, this rare set of painted panels embodies his desire to break away from ⛄previous conventions and emerge with an innovative style.

The present work is a study for an important canvas, Grandcamp, un soir (Museum of Modern Art, New York). Though very close to the final work in terms of composition, Seurat's pointilliste technique in the small panel consists of short, angular brushstrokes, allowing for a lively, spontaneous rendering of a sea view, particularly when compared to the more scientific, co😼ntrolled precision of the final version. By juxta𒁏posing dabs of contrasting colours, the artist captures the light, almost hazy atmosphere of an afternoon by the English Channel.

This painted study not only represents the preparation of a major work, but, significantly, the birth of the new style adopted by Seurat. By observing i﷽t, we are witnessing the origins🌼 of pointillism, a concept for which Seurat is famous.

 

Fig. I Georges Seurat, Grandcamp, un soir, 1⛄885, oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Estate of John Hay Whitney